Go-go never quite gained national recognition on the charts, but it became a bona-fide phenomenon in the Washington D.C. area in the mid-’70s, with Brown at its (very funky) center. His career, which stretched across four decades and more than 20 albums, easily transcended the genre — to many in the region, he was a beloved figure and a source of local pride.

Brown also recorded the theme song for the Fox sitcom The Sinbad Show in the ’90s, and his early hit “Bustin’ Loose” is the home-run song for the Washington Nationals baseball team (you can hear elements of its distinctive melody and lyrics in Nelly’s 2002 chart topper “Hot in Here”). In 2009, a block in D.C. was renamed Chuck Brown Way in his honor.